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Joe Carnahan exits Death Wish remake

A dispute over casting - specifically Bruce Willis - has reportedly led to Joe Carnahan quitting the new Death Wish movie...

It was a shame when Joe Carnahan's vision for Daredevil was passed over, particularly given how interesting it looked (you can read more about it here). But there was some comfort in the fact that we could look forward to him directing a Death Wish remake, hopefully in the same gritty style he demonstrated in his terrific feature, Narc.

Sadly though it seems as though Carnahan has now left the project over casting disagreements. He reportedly wanted Frank Grillo filling Charles Bronson's shoes in the lead role after working with the actor on The Grey, and there was some speculation that Liam Neeson would also be considered. However, it seemed that Paramount and MGM were set on Bruce Willis to headline the movie, and Joe Carnahan was not.

Bruce Willis is obviously still a draw (just look at the numbers for A Good Day To Die Hard, in spite of the savage reviews) and is deceptively hard working given the sheer amount of films he works on. In the right hands, Willis could do a decent job in Death Wish too, although having a movie star at the centre of the film would go against the idea of this being an ordinary man driven to become a vigilante.

The remake will no doubt still go ahead but it's a shame that a director of Carnahan's calibre is once again being forced out of a project because he's unable to have the freedom to bring his vision to the screen. Here's hoping we don't have to wait too long for a new film from him.